1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to electrical connectors, more particularly to an electrical connector assembly with a self-sustaining terminal housing that is capable of nesting another electrical connector in a superposed relationship.
2. Description of the Related Art
Electrical connectors have been employed to connect a printed circuit board to various electronic components associated with a computer, such as a hard disk drive, a printer, etc. In some instances, several electrical connectors are mounted on a principal circuit board in a two-level superposed relationship. As shown in FIG. 1, a conventional electrical connector is provided with a bracket 5 to hold an upper connector 1 and to nest two lower connectors 8, 9. The bracket 5 includes a pair of support arms 7 positioned at two ends, a forward horizontal portion 51 extending between the upper ends of the support arms 7 for supporting the housing of the upper connector 1, two upstanding mounting portions 6 located near the forward edge of the horizontal portion 51, and a terminal positioning plate 70 extending between the support arms 7 near the lower ends of the latter, such that the downwardly extending segments of right-angled terminals 2 can be inserted through openings 11 formed in the terminal positioning plate 70. In addition, an L-shaped portion 71 is disposed between the support arms 7, and is formed integrally with the forward horizontal portion 51 and the terminal positioning plate 70 at two ends. A pair of side anchoring terminals 10 are disposed behind the support arms 7, and are secured to the upstanding mounting portions 6 of the bracket 5. A pair of internally threaded blind rivets 41 and a pair of bolts 4 fasten a metal shield 3, the upper connector 1 and the side anchoring terminals 10 on the bracket 5. The side anchoring terminals 10 and an intermediate anchoring terminal 13 attached to the L-shaped portion 71 mount the bracket 5 on a printed circuit board. According to this structure, the upper connector 1 can be fixed at an upper level by means of the bracket 5, while the space below the forward horizontal portion 51 of the bracket 5 can be utilized to accommodate two smaller connectors 8, 9 at a lower level. The upper connector 1 and the lower connectors 8, 9 are substantially in a stacked relationship.